The Effect of Preterm Birth on Physical Activity for 9- to 12-Year-Old Children

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of preterm birth on physical activity (PA) in 9- to 12-year-old children, and to describe group differences in relationships between PA and lung function, and PA and respiratory morbidity, between children born preterm and term.

STUDY DESIGN: A total of 343 children completed follow-up including children born very preterm (VPT; <30 weeks of gestation, n = 91), moderate-to-late preterm (MLPT; 32-36 weeks of gestation, n = 139), and term (n = 113). PA was measured using 7-day accelerometry and the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children (PAQ-C). Imputation models were used to handle missing data as the total sample recruited at birth included 551 participants.

RESULTS: Children born VPT had more stationary (mean difference (MD): 32 minutes, 95% CI 4, 60; P = .024) and screen time (MD: 25 minutes, 95% CI 0.2, 50; P = .048), and had lower PAQ-C scores (MD: -0.3, 95% CI -0.4, -0.1; P = .001) than term-born children. Children born MLPT completed more screen time (MD: 22 minutes, 95% CI 1, 43; P = .038) than term-born children. All children failed to meet moderate-vigorous PA recommendations (≥60 minutes/day), with 16.6 minutes on average observed across all participants.

CONCLUSIONS: Children born VPT were more sedentary with lower PAQ-C scores, and both preterm groups (VPT and MLPT) had higher screen time than children born at term. No children met moderate-vigorous PA guidelines, indicating early, targeted strategies to curb sedentary behavior and promote activity should be prioritized.